Will Smith Has Been Banned From Attending Oscars for 10 Years

“I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,” Smith responded.

Will Smith Has Been Banned From Attending Oscars for 10 Years
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has banned Will Smith from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.

Will Smith has been banned to attend the Oscars for 10 years after slapping comedian Chris Rock on stage while presenting the best documentary feature at this year’s ceremony.



The Academy has banned Wil Smith

Following a meeting earlier, the 52-person Academy Board of Governors, which manages the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has given its verdict on what repercussions the actor should face for his controversial actions.

The meeting was urgently moved up from its original 18 April date after Will Smith voluntarily resigned his membership from the Academy in the wake of the incident. Academy President, David Rubin, wrote in a letter to Board members that ‘it is in the best interest of all involved for this to be handled in a timely fashion’.

 

Although the actor’s resignation meant he’d no longer be a voting member of the Academy, he could still be invited to future ceremonies and be nominated for future consideration. 

However, the latest decision of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences means Smith will no longer be able to do so for the next decade.

 

The Academy president, David Rubin, and chief executive, Dawn Hudson, said in a statement:

“The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards,” 

The statement continued, “The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage.”

The Academy then went on to apologize for not “adequately address[ing]” the incident during the telecast.

“For this, we are sorry,” the statement read. “This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”

They also gave “deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances,” before thanking the Oscar awards “hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.”

Smith actor will not be stripped of his Best Actor award, and he will remain eligible for future Academy Awards nominations.

 

Shortly after the Academy’s announcement, Will Smith released a statement following that announcement, “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.”

 

As you’ll be aware unless you’ve been living under a rock, this whole saga kicked off just under a fortnight ago with an incident where Smith responded poorly to a joke Chris Rock made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, while presenting on stage at the Oscars ceremony.

Just after the joke, the King Richard actor strode onto the stage and slapped Rock on the face, before returning to his seat and warning the comedian presenter to ‘keep my wife’s name out [of] your f***ing mouth’.

 

Over the past couple of days, the Academy has been hurrying to figure out a response to the controversial incident, as majority of public and celebrity opinion turned firmly away from Will Smith. Several of the actor’s Hollywood peers was also condemning his actions and calling for him to face consequences.

Reportedly, one of those consequences set to have been considered was his potential expulsion from the Academy, however Smith jumped before the Academy could make any decision last week, when he announced in a statement that he was resigning his membership.

The Academy Board of Governors was expected to consider a range of other options during today’s meeting, including, making him ineligible for nominations, barring Smith from attending future ceremonies or taking away his Oscar award, which he won just minutes after the incident for his role in the film, King Richard.

 

Experts had said that it was unlikely that the actor would have his Oscar revoked, as the Academy had not taken similar actions when dealing with other organisation members expelled for serious sexual offences, including Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski.

Nevertheless, with the 9000 members of the Academy’, who did not get a vote on the decision, were said to be ‘split down the middle’ over how severely Will Smith should be punished for his violent overreaction.



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